Helping the children of Belarus
Masha Grynkevich is reunited with her Canadian family
by Gail Martin, Elmira Independent

This is the third and final installment of our series on the chidren of Belarus. These children are hosted by the Canadian Friends of Chernobyl¹s Children each summer, to help the children recover from the harmful effects of radiation in their country.

She's an 11-year-old with a bright, happy smile, with eyes that light up with excitement over being back in Canada.

Masha Grynkevich is reunited with Susan and John Fitzgerald, along with their children, Devin and Brendan.

Masha stayed with them for three separate summers, in 1998, 1999, and 2000, as part of the Canadian Friends of Chernobyl's Children program.

This program brings children from Belarus for a respite visit to Canada, to avoid the continuing effects of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that took place in 1986.

Unfortunately for Masha, she was not allowed to come to Canada last year.

The reasons why were unclear. Masha's orphanage director was not in favour of letting Masha return to Canada, at least not without being able to tag along with Masha.

Fitzgerald visited Masha last fall in Belarus, to encourage her and keep her spirits up.

While she was there, Fitzgerald also spoke to the orphanage director, to try to give Masha another chance to come to Canada.

Whatever she said, it worked.

Masha arrived in Toronto on Friday, May 24, and will stay with the Fitzgeralds for 12 weeks.

"The difficult part was waiting for the plane to land," said Fitzgerald.

Even though she had been told that Masha would be arriving on this plane, part of her did not believe it.

The morning before Masha arrived, Fitzgerald checked her email, to make sure there were no messages from Belarus. There were none, so Fitzgerald was able to tell herself that everything would be okay.

Fitzgerald wasn't entirely convinced, however, that Masha would arrive, even when she arrived at the airport.

She was still holding her breath until after the plane landed.

"It was difficult," said Fitzgerald. "You know the plane is there, and has landed, but you have to wait for customs [to be done.]"

Even when Masha finally came out, Fitzgerald had to wait for Masha to see her, and for the chance to make it through the crowd to give her a hug.

On Monday, when this reporter visited the Fitzgerald home, the little girl from Belarus was beside herself with happiness and joy, and could not keep the smile off her face.

Through an interpreter, Ludmilla Sinkevich, Masha said that she was thrilled to be here.

"I was waiting for this," said Masha. "I feel very happy here."

However, the happiness did not last. When she was asked about the English lessons she was supposed to be taking in Belarus, Masha became very upset.

She explained to Sinkevich that she had lost a certificate she needed to take English in school, and did not get to take the lessons.

Masha started to cry, and had a hard time answering any more questions.

It was obvious that she gone through a hard time over this issue back in Belarus.

The poor girl has had a difficult life.

Even last year, when she was not permitted to come to Canada, Masha was not told why. It was never explained to her by the orphanage.

Masha only found out on the Tuesday before she arrived that she was coming to Canada.

She was quite likely very anxious before she was told, knowing that it was getting to the time of year where children from Belarus were sent to Canada.

This kind of treatment shows how the orphanage works. It focuses on meeting the basic physical needs of the children in its care, but does not necessarily focus on their emotional needs.

Masha has lived in the orphanage since she was four. Her sister, Natasha, also lives there -- and has known no other life.

The children who live there don't have their own possessions -- everything is shared.

When Masha first came to visit the Fitzgeralds,  she didn¹t realize that the boys' toys were theirs, and that she had to ask permission to use them.

Fitzgerald had to explain this to Masha. She also pointed out the benefits of this system -- anything that Masha owned was hers, and others had to ask her, if they wanted to use it.

So when Masha arrived on Friday, one of her first stops was to her bedroom.

The Fitzgeralds had kept it the same for her, waiting for her return.

Masha's clothes, purchased during her last visit in 2000, were quickly inspected, and found to be too small. Saturday was then spent picking up some new clothes for Masha.

They also went to the grocery store, and Masha picked out some of her favourite foods -- including ice cream.

While here, Masha will enjoy all that this part of Canada has to offer, including healthy food that is free of radiation.

She will also breathe fresh air, and have the chance to enjoy a number of activities that she does not get to participate in back home.

Fitzgerald is planning on taking Masha to Sportsworld and to the Ontario Science Centre, as well as to Wings of Paradise.

And, later this summer, host families from the area will get together for a barbecue, giving the children a chance to visit with one another.

The entire visit, while it will be filled with fun activities, will, of course, serve a greater purpose -- helping Masha get healthy enough to resist the effect the radiation will have on her immune system when she returns home.

The first year that the Fitzgeralds hosted Masha, they noticed how thin and pale she was. Masha also had a bad cough, and tended to get a lot of colds during the winter months.

Now, five years later, Masha is a lot healthier, even though she missed last year¹s visit. She has grown several inches, and has a much healthier skin tone.

Masha, like other children who come here during the summer months, will likely gain a bit of weight, and grow a little taller.

She will visit the dentist and eye doctor, and have all the care that can be offered by our Canadian health care system, still one of the best in the world.

But, more importantly than all of this, Masha will be able to continue to develop her friendship with the Fitzgeralds -- a friendship that, from all appearances, will last a lifetime.

Canadian Friends of Chernobyl's Children will be having a special fundraising dinner this weekend, on June 2, at 5pm in the Carraige Hall. Tickets are $15 each, and can be purchased by calling Judi Poll at 742-5647. The evening will include door prizes and a silent auction.

Those who are interested in hosting a child next summer can contact Michelle Ellig, at 669-2556.